All posts tagged Netherlands

Rabbits are known for being extremely territorial in the wild. Apparently, this is also true in the world of character goods based on fictional bunnies — with or without mouths.

AFP/Getty Images

Yes, Miffy, but have you ever been in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade? A Hello Kitty balloon hovers over the crowd on Nov. 26, 2009 in New York City.

A court in the Netherlands ruled on Tuesday that a minimalist rabbit character dreamed up by Sanrio Co., the Tokyo-based parent company of the Hello Kitty empire, infringes on the rights of her arch-nemesis, Miffy.

The Amsterdam court ordered Sanrio to stop marketing and producing goods branded with its “Cathy” bunny character after finding that it bore more than a passing resemblance to Miffy (somehow overlooking the fact that Miffy clearly has an “x” for a mouth while Cathy makes do with none). Read More »

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